Annie Lennox has captivated many hearts with her soulful and expressive voice, as well as her unique sense of fashion. It's only natural that she has won many honors in her long and storied career. In the '90s, she parted ways with the Eurythmics and reinvented herself as a solo artist, fueling her wild success with a series of inventive and memorable music videos. When I was a little kid, I imagined her as some sort of ageless vampire noblewoman who threw lavish parties at her grand palace on the misty Scottish moors, and invited all her famous musician friends. This mashup is what one of these theoretical parties might sound like.

Here are all the songs I used in this mashup, in order of appearance:

Annie Lennox - Walking on Broken Glass
Ashlee Simpson - Pieces of Me
Des'ree - You Gotta Be
Annie Lennox - Why
Martin Page - In the House of Stone and Light
Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka - Onett (from "EarthBound")
Sophie B. Hawkins - Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again

Worldbuilder Mashups

Why You Gotta Be Walking on Broken Glass? (Annie Lennox, Des'ree, Tears for Fears, and More)

My thirty-third mashup is dedicated to an engineering genius friend of mine, who's a total expert when it comes to matters of public transit, among many other subjects. He knows pretty much everything there is to know about buses: their makes, their models, and even the sound effects they use. When he posted a cleverly arranged "dance remix" video of bus sound effects on his Facebook page, my demented brain immediately started coming up with ideas for a mashup. As you might have guessed, the songs I used here have a few common themes: music, the radio, DJs, and/or stopping.

There's a fairly important message hidden within this song. We all need to stop waiting for the time when we can finally say "knick knack paddy whack, radio video, fee fi fo fum, eeny meeny miney moe". ;)

Here's a list of all the songs and sound clips I used, in order of appearance:

Various public transit sound effects and voice clips of uncertain origin
TheCRTman - Stop Requested (SF Bay Area Transit Musical)
M - Pop Muzik
Robbie Williams - Rock DJ
Phish - Down with Disease
Spice Girls - Stop
The Flirts - Jukebox
R.E.M. featuring KRS-One - Radio Song

Stop Muzik (M vs. Robbie Williams, Phish, the Spice Girls, and More!)

Sometimes my musical ideas go in unexpected directions. For my forty-third mashup, I combined "Closer" by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, "Kismet" by the British-Australian classical crossover group Bond, and "Mindfields" by the English electronic music group the Prodigy. The result is an unusual combination of sounds that may feel right at home in the background score of an action/sci-fi film or video game. Its title refers to Neo, the protagonist of the "Matrix" franchise (the song "Mindfields" appeared on the first movie's soundtrack), and "Prophetic", the main title music of the Nintendo 64 puzzle game "Tetrisphere" (which my mashup is designed to resemble).

From what I understand, Trent Reznor is one of the most cover/remix-friendly musicians out there, and is supposedly very supportive of his fans. I wonder what it would take to bring this piece to his attention?

Prophetic Neo (Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" vs. Prodigy's "Mindfields" and Bond's "Kismet")

As many of you may know, I come from a video game music background, and I'm especially fond of classic role-playing game soundtracks. One of my favorite composers and chief musical influences is Hitoshi Sakimoto, who contributed the orchestral scores to such classic RPGs as "Final Fantasy Tactics" and "Ogre Battle".

One of Mr. Sakimoto's lesser-known games, which was only released in Japan, is called "Hourai Gakuen no Bouken" (roughly translated as "Hourai High School Adventures"). Although I don't speak a lot of Japanese and I've never played that game, I absolutely adore its soundtrack, especially the piece "Opening and Ending". On a whim, I decided to use it as the opening and ending (natch) of my fiftieth mashup, "Eightiestown", and overlay it with excerpts from various pop and rock hits of the 1980s.

Because Eightiestown's looping finale is one of my favorite parts of the 26-minute-long mashup, I figured I would release it as a stand-alone file. How many of its source songs do you recognize?

Here's a full list of the songs I used here:

Hitoshi Sakimoto - Opening and Ending (from "Hourai High School Adventures")
Bone Symphony - One Foot in Front of the Other (from "Revenge of the Nerds")
Betty Boo - Where Are You Baby (from "Career Opportunities")
Richard Marx - Right Here Waiting
Lionel Richie - Dancing on the Ceiling
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
Wang Chung - Everybody Have Fun Tonight
The Fixx - One Thing Leads to Another

Eightiestown Finale (Bone Symphony, Betty Boo, Richard Marx, Lionel Richie, and More!)

Sometimes, other people give me ideas for mashups. One of my closest friends mentioned the similarities between Whitney Houston's 1990 pop hit "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and the theme music from the 1990s "X-Men" animated series. As soon as he brought that to my attention, I immediately heard the similarities between those two pieces in my head, and figured they would make a worthwhile mashup.

Fun fact: The X-Men theme's composer, Ron Wasserman, also wrote the "Power Rangers" theme song and contributed to many of Haim Saban and Shuki Levy's other projects.

You're Giving Me X-Tasy (Whitney Houston's "I'm Your Baby Tonight" vs. the 1990s X-Men Theme)

My seventy-ninth mashup brings together four similarly structured classic rock songs from between 1979 and 1996. I'm pretty sure the musicians behind these chart-topping hits have never gone on tour together, but it would be quite a line-up if they did! That's the beauty of mashups, if you ask me.

Here's a complete list of everything I used:

The Police - Bring on the Night
Men at Work - Down Under
Jewel - You Were Meant for Me
Pink Floyd - Hey You

...wait, Jewel counts as "classic rock" now? But she released that song when I was in high school! Oh well. Time marches on, and all that.

Hey, You Were Meant to Bring on the Night Down Under (The Police, Men at Work, Jewel, Pink Floyd)

I tried to pull out all the stops for my 80th mashup, so who better to build it around than one of the biggest musical acts of all time, Michael Jackson?

Long before I learned what a mashup was, I noticed similarities between the MJ songs "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", as well as Frankie Smith's "Double Dutch Bus". Upon further reflection, I began thinking of more songs to add to this theoretical melding of genres and decades, resulting in this fourteen-minute tour de force.

List of Music Sources in This Mashup:

Michael Jackson - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Frankie Smith - Double Dutch Bus
John Weeks - Lakeside Town
Pearl Jam - Even Flow
Duran Duran - Too Much Information
Nirvana - Come As You Are
Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
Stephen Stills - Love the One You're With
Blind Melon - Tones of Home
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

Don't Stop 'Til You Flow Evenly (Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Duran Duran, and Many More!)

My eighty-fifth mashup combines two peppy, lighthearted, and structurally similar love songs from circa 1958-1962: Connie Francis' "Pretty Little Baby" and the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream". This Valentine's Day opus is dedicated to a pair of very special soul mates. What makes them so special, you might ask? Well, not only have they been together for almost five decades, but their bond brought ME into the world!

Malt Shop Mashup (Connie Francis' "Pretty Little Baby"/Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream")

My eighty-sixth mashup dares to be so many things at once that it's... almost... stupid. There's a multitude of genres contained within a mere seven and a half minutes, from new wave to progressive to big beat to that iconic organ riff from Dire Straits' "Walk of Life". There may even be some cheese hidden somewhere in the mix. The question is... where did it go?

Here's a complete list of everything I used:

Weird Al Yankovic - Dare to Be Stupid
Apollo 440 - Stop the Rock
Valkyrie Profile - The Unfinished Battle with God Syndrome
Dire Straits - Walk of Life
Sonic Rush - Right There, Ride On
Frank Zappa - Disco Boy
Ween - Cheese
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

Can't Stop the Stupid (Weird Al Yankovic, Apollo 440, Valkyrie Profile, Sonic Rush, and Many More!)

It's something of a tradition of mine to make every tenth mashup longer and more elaborate than usual, and my 90th mashup is certainly no exception. Here, I paid tribute to everything from pop to rock to hip-hop to Japanese video game soundtracks. Also salsa. Quite a bit of salsa. Enough to make all the pretty girls dance and take off their underpants.

Since I had so much fun working with Michael Jackson in "Don't Stop 'Til You Flow Evenly", the next logical step would be to create a mashup featuring his little sister.

For the record, the "Zeal" in the title refers to the Kingdom of Zeal, a magical realm suspended on an archipelago of floating islands, in the classic video game "Chrono Trigger". The music for this area, Yasunori Mitsuda's "Corridors of Time", is widely considered one of the most iconic pieces of video game music.

Here's a list of everything I used:

Chrono Trigger Symphony (Blake Robinson Orchestra) - Corridors of Time
Janet Jackson - All for You
Smooth McGroove - Corridors of Time
Motoi Sakuraba - Byzantium
Genesis - I Can't Dance
Guster - Fa Fa (Never Be the Same Again)
Breath of Fire 3 - Pure Again
Eve featuring Gwen Stefani - Let Me Blow Ya Mind
Live - Pain Lies on the Riverside
D12 featuring Eminem - My Band
soulDecision - Faded
Junya Nakano - Jungle
Romancing SaGa - Passionate Rhythm
Junya Nakano - Signs
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

Faded Signs of Zeal (Chrono Trigger, Janet Jackson, Eve, D12 & Eminem, soulDecision, Live, & More!)

My ninety-eighth mashup can best be described as a celebration of alternative and indie rock from the '90s and beyond. In addition, I threw in some big beat and reggae, as well as a particularly smooth selection from a Nintendo 64 game soundtrack. Why? Well... why not?

The idea for this mashup came when a longtime online friend of mine (let's call him "Matt R.") shared some songs from a recent road trip playlist. I'd never heard of the British folk punk balladeer Frank Turner before, but I was fascinated by his 2011 song "Peggy Sang the Blues", so I swore to build a mashup around it at some point in the future. Its sound was unconventional and familiar at once, and I immediately noticed similarities between it and Counting Crows' 1999 single "Hanginaround". Upon further research, I was surprised to learn that Frank Turner opened for Counting Crows on a 2021 tour. If you ask me, they missed a golden opportunity to perform a medley of those two songs that fit together so perfectly.

As I listened to those two songs on repeat and tried to come up with other songs to add to their mashup-in-progress, I remembered the mid-'90s alternative rock anthem "Lightning Crashes" by Live. Its emotional and raw lyrics about the circle of life, and the way it gradually rises to a triumphant climax, make it one of the decade's standout songs in my opinion.

Here's a list of everything I used:

Frank Turner - Peggy Sang the Blues
Pilotwings 64 - Hang Glider
Counting Crows - Hanginaround
Fatboy Slim - Praise You
Live - Lightning Crashes
Cold War Kids - First
Inner Circle - Tell Me

One more thing I should mention. This isn't the first mashup idea Matt R. has given me, and I'm guessing it won't be the last, either!

Blue Lightning (Frank Turner, Counting Crows, Fatboy Slim, Live, Cold War Kids, and Much More!)

This mashup, which resembles the soundtrack of an action movie a little, is a large-scale tribute to the music of the early 2000s. Many of this era's popular songs displayed quite a bit of overlap between genres, and the rock of the time was characterized by a dark and tense sound, hence the name of this compilation. ("Edge", get it?) We used to call this style of music "nu metal" back in the day, but it ain't so nu anymore.

Here's a full list of all the music sources I used:

Eminem - Lose Yourself
Evanescence featuring Paul McCoy - Bring Me to Life
Limp Bizkit - Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)
Sting featuring Cheb Mami - Desert Rose
Rob Dougan - Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino Variation)
Secret of Mana - The Dark Star
Linkin Park - One Step Closer
F-Zero GX - Planet Colors (Green Plant)
Shakira - Whenever, Wherever
F-Zero GX - ZEN (Aeropolis)
DoDonPachi Resurrection - Flotage (Stage 3)
F-Zero GX - Wings for My Way (Main Theme)
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

Mashups Vol. 11

Edge of the Desert (Eminem, Evanescence, Shakira, Sting, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, and More!)

This mellow, more-laid-back-than-usual rock mashup is dedicated to the memory of Scott Weiland, a singer and songwriter best known as the frontman of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver. Since MTV made me into an alternative rock aficionado in the early '90s, STP has always been one of my favorite bands, and I feel fortunate to have attended a concert by their original lineup in 2002. Sure, STP had a lot of amazing hits over the years, but in my opinion, the most satisfying entries of their discography are their B-sides, such as their 2001 song "Wonderful". Recently, when that song was stuck in my head, I began to notice vague similarities with Ben Folds Five's "Underground" and Genesis' "Throwing It All Away". For songs to work in a mashup, they don't need to have the EXACT same chord progression, and sometimes playing around with differently structured songs can yield surprisingly successful results.

Here's a list of the music sources I used:

Ben Folds Five - Underground
Stone Temple Pilots - Wonderful
Genesis - Throwing It All Away
Wild Arms IV - So Close, Yet So Far Away
Stone Temple Pilots - Atlanta
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

Mashups Vol. 10

Wonderground (Ben Folds Five, Stone Temple Pilots, Genesis, and More!)

A British avant-garde/new wave/psychedelic/progressive pop-rock band...

An American actress and model who occasionally tried her hand at rapping, with a little help from her friend Prince...

What could possibly go wrong if they were to combine their musical styles in a funky free-for-all mashup extravaganza?

Here's a list of the music sources I used:

XTC - The Meeting Place
Carmen Electra - Everybody Get on Up
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

Everybody Get on Up to the Meeting Place (XTC vs. Carmen Electra)

S-U-G-A-R! Jump into your racing car... and check out this 24-minute collection of songs from numerous decades. Many of these songs have common themes of sugar, honey, sweetness, love, and life. Of course, some of the song combinations in this mashup undoubtedly work better than others, and I may have gotten a bit too experimental for my own good at certain points. Then again, the best mashup artists are all about exploring possibilities and sometimes even challenging their listeners' sensibilities. Take my chief musical role model, Neil Cicierega, for example. In one of his many transgressive works, he mutated Dean Martin's "That's Amore" into a nightmarish-yet-darkly humorous aural hellscape. Because of that freaky remix, I will never see or hear the word "bells" the same way again. Thanks a lot, Neil. ;)

Speaking of Mr. Cicierega, this is my first mashup which uses one of his original songs. Listen for his paean to amusingly named crayons, starting around 4:51 and paired with the accompaniments of Maroon 5 and... Madonna? What the?

This mashup also pays tribute to another of my favorite mashup artists, Ellie Spectacular, also known for her masterful YouTube Poop videos. She introduced me to a number of catchy and memorable songs via her videos and albums, such as Montaigne's "My Life Is Better with You", which lends itself to mashups exceedingly well.

Expect the unexpected in these 24 minutes! Allusions to classic animated sitcoms and fondly remembered sci-fi dramas! Unlikely marriages of rap, rock, and other disparate genres! And, making her debut appearance in my mashup library, the legendary singer-songwriter Carly Simon! There's so much more to her than that radio-friendly ode to the mystery man in the apricot scarf, you know.

Here's a list of all the audio sources I used in this here mashup:

"Rick and Morty" - Human Music
Maroon 5 - Sugar
Montaigne - My Life Is Better with You
Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Going Down
AKB48 - Sugar Rush (from "Wreck-It Ralph")
R.E.M. featuring Kate Pierson - Me in Honey
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
The Archies featuring Homer Simpson - Sugar Sugar
Madonna - Material Girl
Lemon Demon - Ode to Crayola
The Killers - Mr. Brightside
Chantal Kreviazuk - Weight of the World
Muse - Starlight
Billy Joel - My Life
Killing Heidi - Weir
Carly Simon - Love of My Life ("Into White" Version)
Trick Daddy featuring Ludacris - Sugar (Gimme Some)
Gwen Stefani featuring Akon - The Sweet Escape
Robbie Robb featuring Stevie Salas - In Time (from "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure")
"Quantum Leap" - Leaping Sound Effects
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

WARNING: This mashup features an unexpected "mindscrew ending" which pays tribute to the TV show "Quantum Leap" and parallels the ending of Neil Cicierega's mashup "Best".

Image credit: "Sugar Rush" candy fantasy world from Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" (also the source of the AKB48 song in this mashup)

Sugar in My Life (Maroon 5, U2, R.E.M., Fall Out Boy, Madonna, Trick Daddy, Killers, and More!)

In the summer of 1997, the pop music universe was irreversibly changed when two innovative acts arrived on the scene. I'm referring, of course, to the French electronic robo-duo Daft Punk and the English female-fronted fivesome the Spice Girls. This mashup combines a few of their greatest hits with an autumnal pun title.

Here's a list of all the songs I used:

Daft Punk - Nightvision
Daft Punk - Around the World
Daft Punk - One More Time
Daft Punk - Digital Love
Spice Girls - Say You'll Be There
Spice Girls - Wannabe
Daft Punk - Something About Us
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

Mashups Vol. 12

Punk'n'Spice (A Hit Parade Mashup Tribute to Daft Punk and the Spice Girls)

Bruce Springsteen and Prince are widely regarded as two of the greatest rock and pop singer-songwriters in recent memory. When Prince passed away in April of 2016, Springsteen and the E Street Band paid tribute to the multi-talented Minnesotan by performing "Purple Rain" at a New York City concert. Although I'm not sure if the two auteurs have ever collaborated, they are/were mutual admirers of each other's discographies and creative approaches. This mashup brings together two of their greatest hits with similar structures, while adding some unexpected (and sometimes humorous) twists along the way.

Here's a list of all the songs I used:

Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch
Prince and the Revolution - Raspberry Beret
Spice Girls - Stop
The Pretenders - Brass in Pocket
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

Raspberry Touch (Bruce Springsteen's "Human Touch", Prince's "Raspberry Beret", and More!)

Whether you call it progressive, new wave, power pop, or straight-up rock'n'roll, you can't deny the impact this hard-driving genre made on both sides of the Atlantic. Especially in the early years of MTV. Remember when that cable channel played music videos? They didn't just PLAY 'em; they were dedicated to the medium, setting trends in the entertainment industry for a little over two wonderful decades. Sure, their video countdowns and request shows are relics of a bygone age, but we'll always have the memories. And YouTube.

This mashup is my way of paying tribute to that fondly missed era of the not-too-distant past. Here's a list of all the songs I used:

Dire Straits - Money for Nothing
Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart
Eddie Money featuring Ronnie Spector - Take Me Home Tonight
Kansas - Perfect Lover
Tommy Tutone - 867-5309 (Jenny)
Bryan Adams - Run to You
Billy Idol - White Wedding
Weird Al Yankovic - Beverly Hillbillies
Sarah McLachlan - World on Fire ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark V3)
Sarah McLachlan - Building a Mystery ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark V3)

Dedicated to Mr. K, my tenth grade chemistry teacher, whose class was one of the bright spots of my often-tumultuous high school years. Not just because I actually did well and understood the subject matter for a change, but because he'd often share personal anecdotes and asides about his favorite music. He was a huge fan of rock from the '70s and '80s, so I crafted this mashup in his honor.

Mashups Vol. 13

Owner of a Home Tonight (Yes, Eddie Money, Dire Straits, Bryan Adams, Billy Idol, and Lots More!)

This mashup combines two compositions from prominent figures within the demoscene: Neil Voss' "Martist" and Klaus Lunde's "A Kind Gesture".

Mr. Lunde, also known by the pseudonym "Xerxes", is the co-founder of the Norwegian electronic music collective Sonus.

Mr. Voss is an American multidisciplinary artist best known for contributing the acclaimed soundtracks to a few Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Advance titles, most notably "Tetrisphere".

Tetrisphere 2: The Rise of Xerxes (Neil Voss' "Martist" vs. Klaus Lunde's "A Kind Gesture")

Finally! A mashup that boy-crazy teenage and tweenage girls and their dads can enjoy together! Here's a combination of "Jump Start" by Greg Howe, a prominent figure from the "shred era" of instrumental rock music in the late '80s and early '90s, and "Crush" by Jennifer Paige, a lady who helped usher in the late '90s teen pop craze. If I've done my job, then the manliest and the girliest among us will all join hands and sing "sha la la la".

Howe to Totally Crush It (Jennifer Paige's "Crush" vs. Greg Howe's "Jump Start")

I bid you welcome to a sixteen-and-a-half-minute mashup extravaganza, starring musicians from many genres and eras! I've served up a veritable feast of rock, pop, alternative, New Wave, oldies, hip-hop, and... however you'd classify the avant-garde, experimental Japanese band TGMX. "Other", perhaps?

Here's a complete list of all the audio sources I used:

The Association - No Fair at All
Mariah Carey - Dreamlover
TGMX - Hot Fan in One Summer Day
R.E.M. featuring Kate Pierson - Near Wild Heaven
Saint Etienne - Soft Like Me
Phil Collins - Take Me Home
Swing Out Sister - Breakout
Amy Grant - Baby, Baby
Sugar Ray - Someday
Mariah Carey - We Belong Together
Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men - One Sweet Day
Chingy - Right Thurr
Sarah McLachlan - World on Fire ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark V3)
Sarah McLachlan - Building a Mystery ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark V3)

Soft Like a Dreamlover (Mariah Carey, Phil Collins, Swing Out Sister, Amy Grant, Sugar Ray, More!)

Another quirky international pop/rock/punk mashup from my twisted mind. No matter their language, pop songs can come from diverse origins and share a surprising amount of common threads.

Here's a complete list of all the audio sources I used:

Pedro Capó y Farruko - Calma
Gogol Bordello - Wonderlust King
The Killers - Somebody Told Me
Toad the Wet Sprocket - All I Want
Determinations - Lion Bite

Mashups Vol. 14

El Rey de Wonderlust Va a la Playa (¡Pedro Capó y Farruko, Gogol Bordello, The Killers, y Más!)

The silly-yet-sophisticated workplace sitcom "Night Court" is a childhood favorite TV show of mine, and it will always be highly regarded for its jazzy theme music by Jack Elliott. The show was recently rebooted, so naturally, its earwormy opening tune resurfaced in my head after a few decades of dormancy. I spent some time trying to figure out how to use it in a mashup, and eventually decided it might work well with Salt-N-Pepa's classic rap single "Shoop".

People v. Shoop (Salt-N-Pepa vs. Jack Elliott's "Night Court" Theme)

Kick it!

I see this raucous, irreverent, hard-driving mashup as a celebration of the '80s and early '90s. Hard rock, dance-pop, and adult contemporary dominated the charts, while hip-hop was just beginning to take the world by storm. In my opinion, some of the most memorable songs from that period were the ones that dared to fuse multiple genres together; think Aerosmith and Run-DMC's "Walk This Way" and the KLF's "Justified and Ancient". These unlikely combinations from forward-thinking songwriters and producers served to introduce new audiences to unfamiliar forms of music, and could be considered spiritual precursors to the mashup in some respects.

Here's my attempt at paying tribute to those freewheeling days gone by. If you lived through that era and had your finger on the pulse, chances are you might remember one or more of the songs in my intermingled party playlist:

Paula Abdul - The Promise of a New Day
Extreme - Decadence Dance
Poison - Nothin' But a Good Time
Michael Bolton - Steel Bars
Huey Lewis and the News - Do You Believe in Love
Beastie Boys - (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)
Journey - Any Way You Want It
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

Incidentally, I have a theory about the Nintendo employees who were tasked with coming up with a name for the Wii's successor. They must have been listening to Huey Lewis and the News' "Do You Believe in Love" when inspiration hit. ;)

Mashups Vol. 16

This Party Has Promise (Paula Abdul, Extreme, Poison, Michael Bolton, and Lots More!)

Welcome to Worldbuilder's 25-minute downtempo extravaganza! Treat yourself to a truly sensual assortment of pop, R&B, soul, jazz, and hip-hop classics, with some delicious chords and world beat infusions scattered throughout.

This mashup is dedicated to the memory of soul singer-songwriter extraordinaire Bobby Caldwell, who passed away earlier in 2023. I bet he's slow-jamming with Bill Withers, Grover Washington Jr., Tupac Shakur, Christopher "Big Pun" Rios, and Pau Donés (formerly of Jarabe de Palo) up in Heaven right now.

CONTENT WARNING: This mashup contains explicit lyrics.

Here's a list of everything I used here:

Opoona - Fonthene, the Village Without Memories
Go West - What You Won't Do for Love
2Pac - Do for Love
Final Fantasy XI - Bustle of the Capital
Bobby Caldwell - What You Won't Do for Love
Big Pun featuring Joe - Still Not a Player
Nelward - Ghost
Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers - Just the Two of Us
Mariah Carey - A No No
soulDecision - Faded
Jarabe de Palo - Bonito
Terror Squad - Take Me Home
Boyz II Men featuring MC Lyte - What You Won't Do for Love
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

Can a Jam Be Too Slow? (2Pac, Bobby Caldwell, Mariah Carey, Go West, Big Pun, Nelward, and More!)

As the '80s gave way to the '90s, hair metal and glam rock were on their way out, setting the stage for alternative and grunge to take over the charts. That didn't stop the once-popular rock subgenre from going out with a bang in 1991 and 1992, with a pair of heartfelt downtempo ballads in the same key. Mr. Big's "To Be with You" and Saigon Kick's "Love Is on the Way" were just begging to be mashed up, don't you agree? (I added snippets of two Y2K-era rock hits, Smash Mouth's "All Star" and Uncle Kracker's "Follow Me", because they seemed to fit pretty well.)

This mashup is dedicated to the memory of Steve Harwell, the co-founder and original lead singer of Smash Mouth. He passed away less than a week after I completed this project.

Mashups Vol. 17

Love Is on the Way to Be with You (Mr. Big, Saigon Kick, Smash Mouth, and More!)

Finished August 23, 2021.

I composed this piece, along with eight others, for a Facebook group's strategy role-playing video game development project. Not sure whether it ever got off the ground, though.

This frenetic battlefield theme's main influence is Motoi Sakuraba, whose progressive rock-inspired soundtracks provided games such as "Tales", "Star Ocean", "Golden Sun", and "Baten Kaitos" with plenty of energy and verve. Another inspiration for this piece (whether conscious or not) is the final boss battle music from the Game Boy game "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan", composed by Tomoko Nishikawa and Michiru Yamane.

Organs Working Overtime (Original Retro RPG-Style Boss Battle Music)

As a proud Xennial, I will always have a place in my heart for the rock, pop, hip-hop, and other hits of the '90s. But I'm always open to learning about later songs which somehow flew under my radar. Though Flo Rida's "My House" became an international success in 2015, I didn't discover it until earlier this year when I saw a movie called "Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life" on YouTube for free. The subversive teen comedy's soundtrack was packed full of more recent pop jams that inspired my next wave of mashups, starting with this melding of "My House" and Rob Thomas' 2009 rock anthem "Someday". Also listen for appearances from Sam Smith's "Stay with Me" and Jill Sobule's "Bitter", which I thought filled in the cracks quite well.

Some House (Flo Rida, Rob Thomas, Sam Smith, and More!)

Strap yourself in for a sixteen-minute Gen X fever dream! Dedicated to my dear friend and loyal listener Matt R., who shares my fond memories of the grunge era and of MTV's mid-'90s golden age.

Here's a list of all the songs I used in this mashupalooza:

Pearl Jam - Jeremy
Stone Temple Pilots - Vasoline
Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealing
Alanis Morissette - Hand in My Pocket
Butthole Surfers - Pepper
The Smashing Pumpkins - Rocket
U2 - Numb
R.E.M. - Belong
Pink Floyd - Learning to Fly
Madonna - Holiday

Pearl Pumpkin Pilots (Pearl Jam, STP, Jane's Addiction, Alanis, Smashing Pumpkins, and Much More!)

1993 saw the release of two of the biggest hits in the "Miami bass" hip-hop subgenre, with very similar titles and subjects: 95 South's "Whoot, There It Is" and Tag Team's "Whoomp! (There It Is)". Though only one of these songs would meet with mainstream success and enduring popularity in advertisements and sporting events, both have their merits in my opinion. While listening to these songs on repeat during one of my usual spells of '90s nostalgia, I randomly got the idea to combine them in a mashup and back them with classic video game beats. The fast-paced orchestral composition "Limitation", from a Japanese battle strategy game called "Tactics Ogre" (composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto and Yoshimi Kudo), backs 95 South and Tag Team through most of the mashup. Meanwhile, a passage of ".59" from the quintessential rhythm game "Dance Dance Revolution" (composed by Takayuki Ishikawa) makes an appearance later on.

Mashups Vol. 18

Whoot Versus Whoomp (95 South vs. Tag Team, Also Featuring Music from Tactics Ogre and DDR)

Here's a mashup for all the Millennials who never quite outgrew their affinities for rock, hip-hop, and R&B. Take a nostalgic stroll down the Boulevard of Yeah, where the mid-2000s never ended! Listen to Usher, Lil Jon, and Ludacris jam to the backing track of Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", and reminisce about times gone by.

Boulevard of Yeah (Green Day vs. Usher, Lil Jon, and Ludacris)

The idea for this eclectic mashup came to me when a friend recently introduced me to a pop song I'd never heard before, Lizzo's "Juice", which immediately reminded me of numerous other songs I knew. All of them are in the key of D minor (hence the name of this piece) and follow similar chord progressions, even though their genres and release dates are wildly divergent. From Boyz II Men's new jack swing beats to Metallica's distorted guitars to Chicago's energetic horn section, this twenty-minute-long extravaganza is like an all-you-can-listen buffet!

Here's a list of all the music sources I used:

Boyz II Men - Motownphilly
Metallica - Sad But True
Hall and Oates - Portable Radio
Madonna - Like a Prayer
Keith Borman - Opcode Studio Demo (Doot'n Doot'n Doot Doot Doo)
Chicago - Street Player
Lizzo - Juice
Spice Girls - Love Thing
Mariah Carey - Make It Happen
Gogol Bordello - Wonderlust King ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark V4)

D Fun Begins (Lizzo, Boyz II Men, Mariah, Spice Girls, Chicago, Madonna, Hall and Oates, and More!)

If you were to ask me what kind of music I listen to when I'm not gathering ideas for mashups, my first impulse would be to give a short, two-word answer: "It's complicated." My Winamp playlist features everything from '90s alternative to '80s New Wave to surreal Japanese synth-pop to anime and video game soundtracks. (And yes, I never stopped using Winamp, because I appear to be stuck in the Web 1.0 era.)

This twelve-minute mashup combines many of my disparate musical influences, with songs from widely divergent genres and national origins, united only by their keys and similar chord progressions. Think of it as something a college radio station would play exactly once on an indie/alternative rock show, after midnight, causing its small-but-loyal base of insomniac fans to feel as if they were having a shared fever dream.

Here's a list of all the music sources I used:

Frou Frou - Breathe In
Do As Infinity - Week!
Guster - What You Wish For
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Pon Pon Pon
XTC - Grass
Texas - Say What You Want
Breath of Fire 3 - Life's a Beach
Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl

Frou Pon (Frou Frou, Texas, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Do As Infinity, Guster, XTC, and Much More!)

Rickrolling. A long-lasting Internet meme that helped revive interest in Rick Astley's 1987 hit "Never Gonna Give You Up", and arguably, '80s pop music in general. Though I never really understood the humor of that harmless prank, I've always enjoyed the song that lies at its core, and find it quite fun to use in mashups. Here's one that combines Astley's signature song with fellow British pop star Lisa Stansfield's sultry cover of Barry White's similarly named soul classic. And I wanted to mix things up a little and catch listeners off guard, so I added a rap from the late, great Left Eye near the end, because I felt it worked pretty well.

Here's a list of all the music sources I used:

Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
Lisa Stansfield - Never, Never Gonna Give You Up
Donell Jones featuring Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes - U Know What's Up
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

Never, Never Gonna Mash Them Up (Rick Astley vs. Lisa Stansfield and Left Eye)

In 2023, the comedian/musician/YouTube star Daniel Thrasher released a video called "How Rap Sounds to Non-English Speakers" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdOtR2A5agc ), which I thought would be simply marvelous in a mashup. The more I listened to its nonsense words and infectious rhythms, the more ideas I got for this unconventional, experimental, and almost unworldly soundscape.

Here's a list of all the music sources I used here:

Daniel Thrasher - Igowallah (How Rap Sounds to Non-English Speakers)
Boards of Canada - Reach for the Dead
The Sims - Rap Radio 1
Tetrisphere - Compliant Confuse

The Bride of Igowallah (Daniel Thrasher vs. Boards of Canada, The Sims, and More!)

Have some feel-good, ice-cold chillin' hip-hop flava in your ear. This mashup is dedicated to a very dear friend of mine, who just shared his classic rap MP3 collection with me when visiting me from out of town. I've only just begun to scratch the surface of his musical repository, and I hope to create more mashups with dope beats and funky flows in the near future.

Here's a list of all the music sources I used here:

A Tribe Called Quest - Can I Kick It?
Boards of Canada - Constants Are Changing
Octopath Traveler II - Snowswept Town
The Emotions - Best of My Love
Tears for Fears - Break It Down Again ("Worldbuilder" Soundmark)

Hip-hop producers, take note: Boards of Canada and Square Enix's RPG soundtracks are excellent, oft-overlooked sources of beat materials.

Constants Are Kickin' (A Tribe Called Quest, Boards of Canada, The Emotions, and More!)

I recently heard "Say Somethin'", the 2012 debut single of Texas-born pop singer Austin Mahone, on the radio at Walgreens while refilling some prescriptions. I couldn't help but notice that it fit seamlessly with one of my favorite '80s rock songs, the Beach Boys-esque "Season Cycle" by XTC, so I put my other musical projects on hold for a while so I could get this mashup done. (Listen for appearances by two other similarly structured early-2010s pop songs later on, One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" and Omi's "Cheerleader"!)

Somethin' Cycle (XTC vs. Austin Mahone, featuring One Direction and Omi)

Completed in August 2018. I created this orchestral waltz for my current fantasy RPG development project, and as its title suggests, it's designed for heartwarming and uplifting scenes with sympathetic older female characters.

Resourceful Collection

Her Royal Kindness

Completed in July 2020. A tribute to five of my all-time favorite role-playing game battle themes:

SaGa Frontier 2: Feldschlacht III (Field Battle III)
Unlimited Saga: BT Ver. 6
Sigma Harmonics: Hope Given (Dance of the Dog's Howl)
Legend of Legacy: Battle in the Twin Dimensions
World of Final Fantasy: World of Battle

The above pieces have a few important things in common. They were all composed by Masashi Hamauzu, they're all roughly the same tempo, and they're all in the key of F. Someday, I knew I had to create a Hamauzu-style battle theme of my own, with lively piano flourishes, vigorous drumbeats, heroic melodies, and otherworldly chord changes. Naturally, I'd give such a piece a German title, as a nod to the country of Hamauzu's birth. "Verletzung" means "injury", a fitting title for a heated confrontation.

Verletzung (Tribute to Masashi Hamauzu)

I'm an amateur composer, arranger, and music producer from the USA. I specialize in mashups and retro video game soundtracks.

If you can't wait for Neil Cicierega's next "Mouth" album, give my mashups a try and hopefully you'll like them almost as much as you like his.

DJ Worldbuilder

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